In July 2023, running back/returner Nyheim Hines suffered a significant knee injury in a jet ski accident that took him out for two full seasons.
Now fully healed and a free agent, Hines is looking for a team with which to make his official return to the field with confidence he is back to his previous form.
“I’m far from done, and the story is in my hand,” Hines told The Charlotte Observer. “I put myself in this position, but as athletes, we’re in an unfortunate situation in a job ... that we can’t control everything, but the pen is always in our hand, based on our performance. So, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to grab that pen and write whatever story I want.”
Hines, a fourth-round pick of the Colts in 2018, spent the first four-plus years of his career in Indy as a rotational RB and return specialist before being traded midseason to the Buffalo Bills during the 2022 campaign.
With the Bills, Hines was responsible for a emotional and impressive moment for the organization, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in one game, one on the opening play, in Buffalo’s first contest after Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest the week before.
Unfortunately any momentum in Buffalo was quickly stifled after Hines tore his ACL the following offseason when he was hit by another rider while on a jet ski. He missed the entire 2023 season and then the 2024 campaign as well with the Browns, despite initial hopes he could be a contributor.
Though he never took a snap as a Brown, Hines’ time in Cleveland did lead him to an important partnership with a teammate. Texans running back Nick Chubb, at the time still with the Browns, has had two similarly devastating knee injuries in his football career and was on the tail end of recovering from the second when Hines joined him.
Hines listed Chubb as a significant influence as they worked with each other through their respective rehabs, learning from him and looking at him as an example of the possibilities for a player returning from such a severe injury.
“I would say my biggest inspiration is Nick Chubb,” Hines said via The Charlotte Observer. “I met him month eight of my surgery (recovery) when I signed in April (2024). We did everything together. And he came off a catastrophic injury before this, so I leaned on him a lot.”
And now, two years on from the injury and with his rehab in the past, Hines said he’s finally hit all of the markers needed to play at an NFL level again.
“I’m back just about to where I was, I believe,” Hines said this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I’ve already ran 22.8 miles per hour, 23 miles an hour the last year, and it’s just been about the cutting. I finally got my explosiveness back, I’ve been cutting well.”
The Browns released Hines in February, and since then he has been looking for a new home where he could try and make his return to action. Hines said he’s had workouts with Cleveland, Houston and Indianapolis, though an offer has yet to arrive.
As training camps get underway this month and pre-season injuries start to crop up, opportunities could in turn arise for Hines to find a place. It is in those situations in which his talents as a special teamer could be a major advantage, as when decisions are being made for the final 53-man roster, history has often shown that contributing in multiple areas of the game often proves to be a deciding factor between bubble players.
“I don’t need a lot of touches. I would like some touches at times, but I just want the opportunity. Just put me in space, and throughout my career we’ve seen what I’ve done with a little bit of space,” Hines said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “With that being said, you have to get a pass-catching running back, you have to get a running back that can run between tackles, and you have to get a kick and punt returner.
“I’m all four of those things in one person, and I’m healthy and ready to go.”